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Southern Right Whale Fact Sheet

Southern right whales are one of the most commonly seen whales in Australian waters. Their name arises from the unfortunate fact that as slow swimmers, which are easy to approach and float when dead, they were considered the ‘right’ whales to hunt. They were hunted extensively in the 19th century and populations around Australia were drastically reduced. Today, southern right whales are slowly recovering in southwest Australian waters, but those found in the southeast are still struggling to recover from the impacts of whaling.